Watch the $$ You Get Back

Albany - - You may want to double check huge bills you get back from the store or even the bank. One Albany man learned that the hard way.

Daniel Moretz says he went to cash his payroll check at his bank when he later discovered one of his one 100 dollar bills was fake.

When he took the money back, he says the bank initially didn't want to cooperate since he had already left the premises. Later, they gave him $50 back.

"I cash my paycheck at the same bank every Friday for the past year and never think to check it because it's a bank and you don't think to check because you figure the bank did it for you," Moretz says.

"We have such a problem now with amateur counterfeits using computer printers and scanners that were getting it pretty much everyday," says Captain Craig Dodd.

Dodd says there are some easy things you can do to double check your money. If you hold a new $5, $10, or $20 bill up to light, you can see a ghost reflection of the president on the bill.

Also, you should see the letters "USA" printed several times in a straight line when you hold the money up to light.

Newer bills also have a larger picture of the president on the bill and his picture won't be perfectly centered like on older bills.

Dodd says it's easy to tell the difference between a real and a fake by the touch of the bill and he adds, real bucks have blue and red threads throughout the dollar - which is hard to replicate in counterfeit money.